Coyotes break window in attack on dogs

A pack of coyotes broke the window of a Riverside home Monday morning while trying to attack a puppy.

A pack of coyotes broke the window of a Riverside home Monday morning while trying to attack a puppy.

Heywood HoffmanTribune reporter

A group of coyotes went after three dogs in a Riverside yard this morning, chasing them into a home and breaking windows trying to get in, the dogs' owners and police said.

About 1:20 a.m. police were called to a home in the 0-100 block of South Herbert Road, where a resident had seen four coyotes about to attack one of his dogs in a rear yard.

Roger Nelson told WGN-TV he had taken the three dogs, two younger dogs and a 5-year-old Beagle, Snoopy, outside, and two had returned inside when Snoopy ran up onto a wooden deck and into the home, pursued by four coyotes. The coyotes then proceeded to claw at the glass door, breaking windows in their efforts to continue the attack.

Police said the homeowner used a high-powered BB gun to shoot two of the coyotes, stopping them from breaking into the residence and get at the barking dogs inside.

"It broke the glass on the screen door, and then they broke two panels on the actual wood door into the house," Nelson told WGN-TV.

All four of the coyotes fled the area before police arrived.

"Twenty-five years on the job here, and this is the first time I've ever seen anything like this," with coyotes trying to get into a home chasing prey, Riverside Police Sgt. Bill Gutschick said.

Riverside has had other recent reports of attacks by coyotes, including a 7-month-old "bichon-poo" puppy being killed on Jan. 3 in the 100 block of Addison Road in the suburb.

"Coyotes do not know the difference between pets and the wild creatures they hunt, so try to protect pets by accompanying them outdoors," Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel said in a news release. "Most importantly, use caution near any wild animal."